by James Christopher Monger
Canadian doom metal outfit Bison B.C. (the "B.C." was added as a precautionary measure to avoid any potential legal problems with bands that were inspired to name themselves after the same beast) grew out of the fertile ground of popular Vancouver "skate-thrash" band S.T.R.E.E.T.S. The quartet, which features guitarist/vocalist James Farwell, guitarist/vocalist Dan And, bass player Masa Anzai, and drummer Brad MacKinnon, brought its punk and hardcore roots to the sludge metal slab for its debut album, Earthbound, which eventually caught the ear of Metal Blade Records. The resulting Quiet Earth, produced by Jesse Gander (3 Inches of Blood, Subhumans), was released in 2008.